What are the core values of your business? Good customer service? Do ethics enter the equation? In the 21st century, things such as honesty, accountability and integrity are in short supply, but they can make a big difference to the strength of your brand.
Complete accuracy with time and billing
As a professional, there are a few ways you can make ethics a part of your brand identity. There are many people suspicious of the way you work out the time they put in working and what they get billed for.
They always believe that they should be paid more. Now, with time and billing software for accountants from ImagineTime, nobody can accuse an accounting firm of dishonesty or errors as the software allows for improved task management.
It enables the accounting firm to track the total time spent on each task and to also ensure accuracy in billing, so important for maintaining integrity.
Honesty must prevail
An ethical branding strategy contributes to successful client relationships. Ethical brands are important and need to be part of your brand’s identity. Digital media encourages companies to concentrate on all kinds of innovative marketing techniques to win over customers to buy their services or products.
Customers want honesty, though – they want to be informed about the pros and cons of a product and its warranty. Investing in these when they fail in terms of quality standards impacts negatively on the brand image.
Business ethics
Business or professional ethics is about the moral principles in practice in the day-to-day operations of a business. The very culture of a business is seen in the principles and values displayed every day and which govern the way decisions are tackled.
The business has to make decisions between right and wrong every day, and employees and customers work well when they see professional leaders choosing to do what is fair and right. Organizational professionals of moral standing are aware of the consequences of certain decisions.
Even if it means being unpopular with the rest of management, they behave ethically and take a decision that might not be in favor with the rest of the leadership because they know it’s right.
False advertising
It can be tempting for a business to deceive customers about a product so that they can glean more customers and glean for sales. Magazines, TV, radio, and the Internet reach audiences far and wide with their advertising, whether fake or real.
A business with unscrupulous intentions won’t mind getting fake ads out to everyone to make a lot of money. Many people are duped into buying something dodgy, believing that the product has been scientifically tested and is safe to use. If the Federal Trade Commission investigates it and sees it is in violation of any laws, your customers will lose all faith in you.
As soon as a business receives notice of a defective product, it is their moral duty to inform customers of the danger, for legal and safety reasons and to keep an honest reputation.
Returns policy
Anybody who pays a small fortune for an item and wants to return it for legitimate reasons will lose faith in a business that refuses to take back the product. Business ethics should always include a returns policy – more so when something is bought online.
Agreeing to take something back that hasn’t worked for the customer is an opportunity for a business to promote goodwill and to ensure a positive customer experience.
The best move for professionals is to take the product back and to handle all issues without making it unpleasant for the customer.
